Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
This much we pledge—and more. -JFK

Wednesday, May 30

That's The Effeciency Of Government For You

Worried infection specialists say it shows how vulnerable the United States is, from outdated quarantine laws and the speed of international flight, to killer germs carried by travelers. What if, they ask, the now-quarantined man had carried something very contagious like the next super-flu?

"It's regretful that we weren't able to stop that," Dr. Martin Cetron of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said of how the man fled when U.S. health officials tracked him down in Rome and told him not to get on an airplane.

So, what we have here is someone who is sick, that we know we don't want traveling and spreading his disease, but yet he somehow managed to slip by our crack border patrol. Even though we knew who he was, what he looked like, and had put him on the list that is supposed to stop him from coming in. But hey, it's not like he's the first. I mean, we have anywhere from 10-20 million illegals in this country, so obviously it's not all that difficult to get across the border.

But here's my favorite quote:

"We need to rely on people to do the right thing," Cetron said, saying the CDC hesitates to invoke its quarantine powers.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly why we will never secure our borders, and why unless we change our attitude toward fighting the war in Iraq, we will lose.

I'll say this slowly so that even the kids on the short bus can understand. You can not count on people to do the right thing. Yes, the vast majority of people are good and moral and will do the right thing just because it is the right thing. However, there are some people who will not do the right thing, even with the threat of repercussions. That is why we have a police force, and why countries have military forces. It's also why we have the border patrol and no-fly lists. If only the fine folks at the TSA could learn that being zip-loc nazis is not as important as making sure that the people walking by aren't terrorists. Or typhoid Mary.